Thai National Indicted on Federal Charges of Importing
Millions of Dollars in Counterfeit Software

A Thai national has been indicted in Los Angeles on federal charges of
smuggling into the United States millions of dollars worth of counterfeit
computer software in 2002 and 2003, United States Attorney Debra W. Yang
announced today.

Mongkol Prapakamol, 37, a Rowland Heights resident who is currently in
custody in Vancouver, was indicted yesterday afternoon on 10 counts of
trafficking in counterfeit software and one count of smuggling counterfeit
software.

Prapakamol is accused of illegally importing counterfeit copies of popular
software programs from a variety of companies. The counterfeit items included
Symantec Corporation’s Norton AntiVirus and SystemWorks, Intuit Corporation’s
Quicken, and video games published by LucasArts and Activision.

According to court documents, Prapakamol brought counterfeit software
from Thailand and attempted to distribute the bogus products in the United
States. The total retail value of the counterfeit software illegally imported
by defendant is well over $1 million.

An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime.
Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond
a reasonable doubt.

Prapakamol is currently detained in Vancouver pursuant to a provisional
arrest warrant requested by the United States on January 15, as well as
on local charges of trafficking in counterfeit software. Justice Department
officials in Washington will make the final decision as to whether the
United States will ask Canada to extradite Prapakamol. If convicted of
all charges in the grand jury indictment, Prapakamol faces a statutory
possible sentence of 105 years in federal prison and a fine of $20.25
million.

The case against Prapakamol was investigated by the United States Customs
Service in Los Angeles.
CONTACT: Assistant United States Attorney Wesley L. Hsu (213) 894-3045
Release No. 03027